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Waist Trainers May Not Be the Best Thing for You

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Waist trainers are the latest fashion trend sweeping the nation. Many celebrities swear by them, including the Kardashians, Jessica Alba, and Amber Rose. But are they good for you? Although women are using them as a way to achieve the perfect hourglass figure, this trend may not be as safe as you think.

The trend.

Similar to the Victorian-style corset, which has been around for centuries, a waist trainer is designed to gradually reduce the size of the waist in order to give a woman a more defined hourglass silhouette. It can be worn during times of exercise or while walking around the house. The idea being that as you wear it, your waist will adjust to a slimmer physique and remove "unwanted fat and impurities in your body."

Thanks to the endless selfies and testimonies from the Kardashians and other celebrities, the waist trainer has become a coveted item for women.

Actress Jessica Alba reportedly told Net-A-Porter that she wore a similar corset following her two pregnancies to get back in shape. Even though she credits the corset for giving her a slim and trim figure, the actress alluded to how discomforting the experience was.

“It was brutal," Alba told the Net-A-Porter. “It’s not for everyone. I wore a double corset day and night for three months. It was sweaty, but worth it.” (However, that interview has since been removed from Net-A-Porter.)

"The thermogenisis created within your body will allow your body to rid itself of harsh toxins and impurities, through perspiration. While wearing a garment or waist trainer, the tight compression will help to reduce food volume intake which will help achieve the healthier practice of smaller meals, more often, rather than three large meals a day."

Medical professionals, however, disagree.

“Your stomach might get pushed up beyond the diaphragm, which could cause reflux,” Caroline Apovian, M.D., aprofessor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and a spokesperson for The Obesity Society, told Health Magazine. “If you’re wearing one and you experience those symptoms, that’s a definite sign that you need to loosen it or take it off.”

But besides the harmful effects, experts aren't convinced that the product will have any lasting effect or make a difference in weight loss.

“Medically, it doesn’t make sense that cinching your waist tightly will make it permanently smaller,” Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., clinical professor at Yale School of Medicine told Women's Health magazine. "Once you take the garment off, your body will return to its usual shape. It’s also uncomfortable, restricts your movements, and if you wear it really tight, it can even make it difficult to breathe and theoretically could cause rib damage."

"The corset itself doesn’t have any direct effect on your fat or anatomy,” Andrew Miller, M.D., a New York City-based plastic surgeon told Yahoo Health. “If you stopped wearing a corset, eventually you’re just going to return to the way you were.”

Watch ATTN:'s video below:

Waist trainers are terrible for you, but the media keeps pushing them on women.